March arrived with a bang on Wall Street as stocks set new records, fueled by a promising inflation reading and a relentless tech rally, which saw Nvidia closing with a market cap above $2 trillion for the first time.
The S&P 500 (^GSPC) gained 0.8%, setting a new high. The S&P 500 has risen 16 out of 18 weeks, chugging along after passing 5,000 for the first time last month. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) rose 0.2% or just under 100 points, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (^NDX) rose 1.1%, claiming a record of its own for the second day in a row.
Stocks are kicking off March with an upbeat reaction to PCE data that showed inflation continued to cool — easing worries the Federal Reserve would get more reason to hold off from interest rate cuts. But further scrutiny has highlighted signs of “sticky” inflation that will be harder to shift.
Among big movers, Nvidia (NVDA), the tech company at the center of the AI excitement on Wall Street ended the day with a market cap exceeding $2 trillion for the first time. Meanwhile, shares in New York Community Bancorp (NYCB) tumbled 26% after the exit of its CEO, a $2.7 billion quarterly loss, and findings of “material weaknesses” in the bank’s loan processes. Finally, Dell (DELL) shares rose 31% in the wake of a quarterly sales and profit beat fueled by AI prospects for its servers.
Developments at OpenAI caught the attention of investors tracking the sector. Elon Musk has sued the Microsoft-backed (MSFT) company and its CEO Sam Altman, among others, over a breach of contract. Also, the ChatGPT maker is reportedly set to name new board members in March to end an impasse linked to Altman’s abrupt firing last year.
